Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain is Different than Acute Pain

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for over three months. It can stem from soft tissue injuries, orthopedic injuries, nerve injuries and other injuries. It is different from acute pain which happens when you get hurt and goes away after your body heals from whatever caused the pain. Chronic pain persists. It can impact different parts of the body from the head to the legs.

Living with Chronic Pain Is Debilitating

Living with pain impacts all areas of a person’s life. People suffering from pain struggle to engage in physical activity. Their sleep is often impaired. Pain and impaired sleep cause cognitive issues – difficulty focusing and remembering things.

The longer someone lives with pain the more likely they are to develop mood issues. Studies have shown that the majority of people with chronic pain also develop a mood disorder. It can be a vicious cycle. Pain makes your mood worse and deteriorating mood makes it even more difficult to function and cope with pain.

Multi-Disciplinary Treatment Can Help

Chronic pain is not easy to treat because the source of the pain is different from person to person. Treatment has to be multi-disciplinary. It is important to involve a number of health care practitioners in treatment. Doctors to consider the benefit of medications and nerve blocks. Physiotherapists to get the best outcome from acute injuries and help maintain fitness. Massage therapists and others to help relieve pain. Psychologists to help keep the psychological impact minimized.

Litigating Chronic Pain Cases Takes Experiences

Chronic pain is real. But it is an “invisible” injury to a jury. You can’t see pain. And some jurors react negatively if they believe the cause of the pain is psychological. Over the years, the lawyers at Oatley Vigmond have developed a number of strategies to overcome jury biases in chronic pain cases and get excellent results. The key is obtaining compelling evidence from family, friends, treating health care providers, demonstrative aids and the best experts to demonstrate to a jury just how real and disabling chronic pain can be.